James M. McPherson ‘58 will deliver the Lefler Lecture on Oct. 13.
Pulitzer Prize winning American Civil War historian James M. McPherson will deliver the 2008 Herbert P. and Mary Jane Lefler Lecture at Gustavus Adolphus College at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 13. The lecture will take place in Alumni Hall, located in the O.J. Johnson Student Union and will address Abraham Lincoln’s transformation into the greatest commander in chief in United States history.
McPherson will examine and evaluate the challenges Lincoln faced as he oversaw military strategy, contended with fractious, reluctant generals, and experienced both moments of defeat and victory during America’s bloodiest war.
McPherson is a graduate of both St. Peter High School and Gustavus, where he received his bachelor of arts degree in 1958. He is the George Henry Davis Professor Emeritus of United States History at Princeton University and the author of several award-winning books. His 1988 work, Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, won the Pulitzer Prize and has sold more than 600,000 copies. For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War was published in 1998 and won the Lincoln Prize for the finest scholarly work on Lincoln or the American Civil War solider. His 1964 dissertation, The Struggle for Equality: Abolitionists and the Negro in the Civil War and Reconstruction, earned the Anisfield-Wolf Award for an important contribution to our understanding of racism.
McPherson’s latest book, Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief, is scheduled to be released Tuesday, Oct. 7 and will be available for sale and signing at the Lefler Lecture.
“James McPherson is widely regarded as the preeminent Civil War historian alive today,” Gustavus Professor of History Kevin Byrne said. “We are excited to have him back to Gustavus as part of the Lefler Lecture series.”
In addition to the free, public lecture on the evening of Oct. 13, McPherson will visit several Gustavus classes and take part in an open discussion, question-and-answer event Tuesday, Oct. 14 in the C. Charles Jackson Campus Center.
The Herbert P. and Mary Jane Lefler Lecture was established in 1993 by Mary Jane Lefler in memory of her husband Herbert. By bringing outside speakers, professors, lecturers, artists, historians, and theologians to the Gustavus campus to meet with classes and address the community, the program is intended to enrich the academic experience for students as it carries on the Lefler family’s tradition of pursuing truth and integrity through curiosity, inquiry, discussion, teaching, and learning.
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Media Contact: Director of Media Relations and Internal Communication Luc Hatlestad
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